Moving NC toward clean energy a necessary step to combat climate change

SELC issued the following statement regarding today’s release of a draft clean energy plan by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, which Governor Roy Cooper required through Executive Order 80.

Cooper’s goal is for the state to reduce its greenhosue gas emissions to 40 percent below its 2005 levels by 2025.

“We applaud Governor Cooper for taking action to reduce carbon pollution in the face of the harm suffered by North Carolina residents and businesses from increasingly intense storms and flooding events,” said Gudrun Thompson, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.  “Moving the state away from dirty fossil fuels to clean energy sources is integral to lowering carbon pollution and avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. Now is the time for bold action to address ongoing climate change, which affects all North Carolinians but disproportionately harms the most vulnerable. We’ll review the plan and look forward to working with the state towards the goal of a better future for North Carolinians.”

The draft clean energy plan is open for public comment period until September 9, 2019, and the comment form is available online.